Are you a perfectionist?
Perhaps you can’t leave the house until you look impeccable.
Or maybe you’ve progressed on a project, but only see mistakes.
You set sky-high standards, then beat yourself up when you fail.
Striving for excellence can be a fun challenge. But perfectionism drains your time and energy.
I’m a recovering perfectionist who used to flaunt her attention to detail and unrealistic standards. I spent countless hours on the smallest tasks and craved approval… until my joy shattered.
Here are my 5 hard-won lessons to start uprooting perfectionism in your life.
1) Notice your motivation—fear or joy
Perfectionists tie their self-worth to achievements.
They sacrifice their time, energy, relationships and even health to reach high standards. The fear of failure and disapproval motivates them.
On the other hand, when you strive for excellence, you feel worthy despite your project’s outcome.
You love a job well done, but you don’t neglect other important aspects of your life either. Joy and excitement animate you.
Notice how you feel in your body as you complete tasks.
If fear motivates you, you may feel heavy or tense, or like you’re grasping or chasing something.
Contrarily, if joy motivates you, you may feel light, open, energetic and even grateful. You’re in the flow and ideas come to you easily. Time seems to fly because you’re so focused!
Shining light on your fear is the first step to diminish its power.
2) Love your “flaws”
Perfectionism is actually a coping mechanism.
As a child, I learned that when I didn’t get good grades, my parents criticized me. When I didn’t wear nice clothes, kids made fun of me. When I expressed my anger, I didn’t get what I wanted.
Seemingly small rejections can scar you.
When they hurt too much, you naturally find ways to avoid more pain. In my case, I unconsciously resorted to perfectionism.
So, I forced myself to be what other people wanted. And it worked for years…
Until I realized how much energy went into the never-ending quest for perfection. Worst of all, I never felt good enough.
So, send some love to those parts of you that you’ve cast away. That your parents, co-workers, friends or society have deemed “unacceptable”.
Break out of character, even if it’s just in the privacy of your room or journal.
And breathe.
3) Challenge “No pain, no gain”
Our society praises hard work, often to the detriment of our well-being.
Sure, it’s necessary to put in the effort to succeed. But perfectionists feel like a failure if they don’t achieve their mile-long list of goals.
“No pain, no gain” seems to justify every ounce of energy devoted to getting things just right.
Not only will we be rewarded with another accomplishment, we’ll also gain approval for hard work.
But despite their efforts, a perfectionist feels unworthy: If I’m perfect, then I’ll be good enough. Then others will accept or love me.
I used to wake up in a hurry. My first thoughts rushed towards my to-do list.
I worked at my computer until my eyes glazed over. If I didn’t feel exhausted at the end of the day, that meant I didn’t work hard enough. Then I’d beat myself up.
In a society that overvalues production, profits and perfection, it’s not easy to honor who we are.
We’re human, after all.
To feel happy in such a society, we have to muster up the courage to own our shortcomings, to take pride in being a work in progress.
Which, in turn, inspires others to do the same.
“There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human—in not having to be just happy or just sad—in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time.” ―C. JoyBell C.
4) Pick your battles
Let’s face it.
It’s hard to be yourself and let go of your insecurities.
Some perfectionists worry excessively about what others think. Others say their inner critic is the worst.
But you can’t do it all. No one can.
And if they do, you can bet they’re sacrificing family time, self-care, money or their health. It’s not sustainable in the long run.
“[Perfectionism] is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from flight.” —Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
You don’t stop being a perfectionist overnight though.
For now, pick your battles.
Be deliberately messy, just this once. Or twice.
Edit that email 3 times instead of 10. Cancel one trivial task.
You’ll be okay.
You might even grin a little.
5) Celebrate your wins and failures
I used to think perfectionism was a part of who I am. As far as I could see, the pros outweighed the cons.
Here are the short-term perks of being a perfectionist:
- protects you from criticism
- makes you look hardworking, put-together and successful, thus…
- gives you the impression of feeling “safe” and accepted
- helps you avoid failure and win approval
- blocks the fear of not being good enough
But, I eventually realized the drawbacks of perfectionism tipped the balance:
- forces you to uphold impossible standards
- depletes your time, energy, resources and happiness
- fuels procrastination, inefficiency and overthinking
- makes you constantly feel like a failure, despite achievements
- annoys people around you, as you correct them for everything
- lowers self-esteem and self-confidence
- inhibits spontaneity, resilience and vulnerability
Conclusion: In the long run, perfectionism is a dead-end way to live. It leaves no room for joy.
So, stop right now and acknowledge your wins and failures. Yes, even the tiny wins. And yes, even the failures.
Why?
Because your failures help you improve and grow. Stop focusing so much on results and see how amazing you are.
Enjoy the process.
Embrace who you are today
Life is too short to please others. To tie your self-worth to performance.
So, be kind to yourself.
Let the mistakes roll off your back.
Be proud of who you are.
How will you celebrate you today?
Want some free support?
I’m offering free EFT Tapping sessions in exchange for a short interview via Zoom.
I enjoy connecting with other women and learning about their challenges related to confidence, boundaries and relationships.
In the first 15 minutes, I’ll ask questions like “How did you discover me?” for new content ideas. In the last 15 minutes, you’ll get an EFT session to feel calm and clear. (Yes, things can shift that quickly.)
This offer isn’t a discovery call, where we discuss my paid services. It’s a fun opportunity to connect and support each other!
If you feel inspired to work with me, we can book a free call to make sure we’re a good fit.
I look forward to connecting with you!
